RallyIQ

Game plan

Linda Fruhvirtova v Alina Korneeva

Every number combines what Linda Fruhvirtova does well with what Alina Korneeva allows, each measured against the tour average and shrunk toward it when the sample is thin. Flip perspective

Forecast

Linda Fruhvirtova wins, best of 3 21%90%: 7%–45% · best of 5: 16%
Serve points won 50.7% / 56.7% Linda / Alina · tour 56.4%
Strengths only, no similarity priors 19%serve 50.3% / 56.8%

Each player's serve and return strength is fitted against every opponent they were charted against, so a record built on weak opponents counts for less. At least one of them is no longer active or has too little charted in the last three seasons, so both are compared on their careers. The result is then nudged by Linda Fruhvirtova's record against Alina Korneeva's tactical lookalikes and in their charted head-to-heads (lookalikes: +3.4 on serve, +0.4 on return vs expectation (404 points)). A game-by-game Markov chain turns point odds into match odds; the 90% range covers the uncertainty in the two strengths, not the nudges. Charted matches lean toward big events, so treat this as a scouting estimate, not a betting line.

Head to head, per 100 shots

CareerLindaAlina
Direction choice+0.10 ±0.09
better than 72%
−0.01 ±0.10
better than 51%
Shot selection−0.11 ±0.11
better than 35%
+0.25 ±0.25
better than 73%
Execution+1.26 ±0.49
better than 95%
+0.66 ±0.76
better than 84%
Points left on the table2.35 ±0.12
lower than 81%
2.48 ±0.14
lower than 67%

Each player's career against an average tour player in the same position, adjusted for opponent strength, with a 90% margin (shots clustered by match). Points left on the table is the gap to the best-value direction for the same stroke, so lower is better. Percentiles are within each player's own tour. A side is highlighted only when the gap is larger than the margin on the difference.

Structural compatibility

Expected edge per 100 rally shots from style alone: Linda Fruhvirtova +2.18, Alina Korneeva +2.12. Each player's shot mix weighted by their own skill with each shot and by how much the other gives up against it. This is why some rankings gaps don't hold in a given matchup.

Serve plan

The share of points the server wins when a first serve lands in that direction (hover a rate for its 90% interval; ± is the 90% margin). "Matchup" combines the server's rate with how this returner handles that serve. "Optimal" is the mix that wins most against this returner once they start reading a habit, at the response measured across the tour, and only within the range servers' habits actually vary. The gain over the current mix is how exploitable that mix is.

Linda Fruhvirtova serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowLinda winsv AlinaMatchupOptimal
Wide39%67%60%61.4%±8.054% ▲
Body14%63%52%57.9%±10.714%
T47%71%64%67.5%±9.532% ▼

Optimal v Alina Korneeva: +0.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +3.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowLinda winsv AlinaMatchupOptimal
Wide39%68%60%63.0%±9.351% ▲
Body16%52%51%46.5%±10.71% ▼
T45%64%51%50.3%±9.448% ▲

Optimal v Alina Korneeva: +0.3±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving wide every time would read +8.4 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Alina Korneeva serving

Deuce court

1st serveNowAlina winsv LindaMatchupOptimal
Wide36%66%68%68.0%±8.435%
Body36%54%52%48.3%±9.521% ▼
T29%66%72%70.3%±9.244% ▲

Optimal v Linda Fruhvirtova: +0.8±1.1 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +8.7 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Ad court

1st serveNowAlina winsv LindaMatchupOptimal
Wide48%59%63%57.0%±8.849%
Body26%62%58%64.3%±10.510% ▼
T26%70%65%70.2%±9.441% ▲

Optimal v Linda Fruhvirtova: +0.6±1.2 per 100 first serves (faults included) over the current mix, inside the 90% margin. Serving T every time would read +7.9 per 100 first serves in before the returner adjusts.

Return plan

Value of each return, in points per 100 returns against an average return of the same serve (direction, court, surface): the tour's result with that return, the returner's own edge with it, and what this server gives up when it comes back to that side. Returns with no charted direction are left out, so values compare with each other rather than with zero. Depth isn't a choice here: missed returns have no depth. Serve quality isn't charted, so a block through the middle partly reflects the serve that forced it.

Linda Fruhvirtova returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
FH through the middle54%+4.2+3.1+0.2+7.5±2.8
FH crosscourt23%+5.3+2.7+1.2+9.2±4.3
FH down the line19%+1.5+1.3+0.7+3.6±4.7
FH slice through the middle2%−6.7+0.5+0.1−6.1±1.9
FH slice crosscourt2%−6.6+0.6+0.4−5.6±2.0

Lean FH crosscourt: +2.6±3.8 per 100 returns v the current mix (331 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
BH crosscourt43%+7.7+1.5−0.2+9.0±3.5
BH through the middle42%+6.0+1.6+1.6+9.2±2.7
BH down the line8%+2.2−2.2+2.0+2.0±4.5
BH slice through the middle4%−6.2+0.2±0.0−6.0±1.9
BH slice crosscourt2%−4.2+0.1±0.0−4.0±1.2

Lean BH through the middle: +1.6±2.2 per 100 returns v the current mix (272 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
FH through the middle44%−3.2+2.1+2.4+1.3±3.1
FH crosscourt35%+0.5±0.0+1.2+1.8±4.4
FH down the line21%−0.6+2.1+1.8+3.3±5.0

Lean FH down the line: +1.4±4.5 per 100 returns v the current mix (95 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv AlinaValue
BH through the middle44%−2.6+0.9+1.5−0.1±2.8
BH crosscourt41%+1.5−0.3+2.5+3.7±3.6
BH down the line15%−0.5−0.2−1.8−2.6±4.8

Lean BH crosscourt: +2.7±2.6 per 100 returns v the current mix (119 returns charted)

Alina Korneeva returning

1st serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LindaValue
FH through the middle42%+4.2+2.6−1.1+5.6±2.9
FH crosscourt33%+5.3+1.8+2.3+9.5±4.2
FH slice through the middle10%−6.7+0.8+0.4−5.5±2.5
FH down the line9%+1.5+2.4±0.0+3.9±4.5
FH slice crosscourt6%−6.6+0.7−0.5−6.4±2.4

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.6±3.1 per 100 returns v the current mix (206 returns charted)

1st serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LindaValue
BH through the middle61%+6.0+2.3+0.7+9.0±2.6
BH crosscourt24%+7.7+1.9−2.9+6.7±3.6
BH down the line12%+2.2+0.5+3.4+6.0±4.3
BH slice through the middle4%−6.2−0.8−0.1−7.2±1.9

Lean BH through the middle: +1.5±1.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (127 returns charted)

2nd serve to the forehand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LindaValue
FH crosscourt46%+0.5+0.3+6.4+7.2±4.2
FH through the middle30%−3.2+0.3−0.1−3.0±2.8
FH down the line24%−0.6+3.7−3.8−0.6±4.7

Lean FH crosscourt: +4.9±2.7 per 100 returns v the current mix (50 returns charted)

2nd serve to the backhand

ReturnNowTourOwnv LindaValue
BH crosscourt44%+1.5−0.8−0.8−0.1±3.5
BH through the middle37%−2.6+0.2+1.5−0.9±2.6
BH down the line19%−0.5−4.1+1.9−2.7±4.7

Lean BH crosscourt: +0.8±2.4 per 100 returns v the current mix (52 returns charted, inside the 90% margin)

Rally plan

Edge, in points per 100 shots: the hitter's skill with the shot (own) plus how much the receiver usually gives up against it (theirs), both measured against the tour average on hard. Each player's hard record is shrunk toward their all-surface one, so a thin sample on it moves the numbers only a little.

Linda Fruhvirtova

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to the middle · rally+6.6±2.4+2.9+3.7
FH to their forehand · return +1+5.8±5.4+0.9+5.0
FH to their forehand · rally+5.8±2.9+4.9+0.9
BH to the middle · return +1+5.5±3.5+1.4+4.1
FH to the middle · return+5.2±3.0+4.5+0.7
FH to their forehand · return+5.1±6.0+3.0+2.1

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · return +1−3.0±4.8−2.2−0.8
FH to their forehand · serve +1−1.6±5.1+1.3−2.9
FH to their backhand · rally−0.4±3.5+1.2−1.6
BH to the middle · serve +1−0.1±3.6±0.0±0.0
BH to the middle · rally+0.3±2.3+0.3±0.0

Alina Korneeva

Favour

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
FH to their forehand · return+11.1±5.2+4.5+6.6
BH to the middle · return +1+5.3±3.5+1.2+4.2
FH to their backhand · serve +1+5.2±4.8+3.0+2.2
FH to their forehand · rally+4.8±2.8+1.4+3.4
FH to the middle · serve +1+4.6±3.7+2.9+1.7
BH to the middle · serve +1+3.7±3.5+1.7+2.0

Avoid

ShotEdgeOwnTheirs
BH to their backhand · serve +1−2.7±4.8−5.6+2.9
BH to their backhand · return−2.6±4.7+0.5−3.1
BH to their forehand · rally−0.9±4.9−1.2+0.3
FH to their backhand · return +1−0.3±5.9−0.6+0.3
FH to the middle · rally−0.2±2.6+1.2−1.4

Against Alina Korneeva-like opponents

Linda Fruhvirtova vMatchesServe pts wonReturn pts won
All charted opponents–56.2%42.6%
Players most similar to Alina Korneeva3 60.5%41.3%

Similar by tactical fingerprint: Anna Blinkova, Marta Kostyuk, Leylah Fernandez, Magda Linette, Emma Navarro, Jaqueline Cristian, Sara Bejlek, Nao Hibino, Victoria Azarenka, Flavia Pennetta. When two players have rarely met, their records against these lookalikes fill the gap.